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Shariah companies need to maintain good performance to ensure the sustainability of companies. Shariah companies operate based on Islamic moral foundations, specifically in terms of their accountability and transparency which are considered as key values that need to be considered when conducting their business operations. However, corruption cases can affect the performance of Shariah companies. Studies have shown that Shariah-compliant companies are underperforming as compared to their conventional counterparts. Therefore, the objective of this study is to examine whether BOD ethical commitment (corporate ethics values, action to promote ethics, code of ethics and whistleblowing policy) and risk management and internal control system (content, implementation, role, objective, framework and separation section) will affect the performance of Shariah companies. Data was collected from the 2019 annual reports of 60 Shariah manufacturing companies. Data was analysed using Smart Partial Least Square. The study found BOD Ethical Commitment (whistleblowing policy) and Risk Management and Internal Control System (separation of risk management and internal control) have a significant relationship with performance. The study implies that shariah-compliant companies should focus on the disclosure of whistleblowing policy and separation of risk management and internal control system in their annual reports for them to improve their performance as disclosure of this information, will help to improve the confidence of the market to invest in them more...

The prevalence of vaping worldwide is showing an upward trend. This study aimed to determine the factors associated with motivation to quit vaping among vapers in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, through a cross-sectional, purposive sampling study. Respondents were required to complete a questionnaire consisting of vapers’ sociodemographic questions, habitual behavioral pattern questions, the e-Fagerström Test of Nicotine Dependence, the Glover–Nilsson Smoking Behavioral Dependence Questionnaire, perception questions, motivation to quit questions, and withdrawal symptom questions. A total of 311 vapers participated in this study. The majority of the vapers were male (84.6%), younger (18–25 years) (55.3%), and with monthly income less than RM 4000 (USD 868; 83.9%). The level of motivation to quit vaping was found to have a significant association with the perception of vaping being as satisfying as cigarette smoking (p = 0.006) and mild to very strong nicotine dependence (p = 0.001). Participants who recorded moderate and strong habitual vaping behaviors had lower odds of having high motivation to quit vaping compared to those recording slight habitual behaviors (OR = 0.279, 95%CI(0.110–0.708), p = 0.007 and OR = 0.185, 95%CI(0.052–0.654), p = 0.009, respectively). Factors associated with higher motivation to quit vaping could be explored to gain better understanding of how to increase their motivation level for future quit attempts. more...

Human Governance refers to the governors’ commitment to improve employees’ values and ethical behaviour in the organization. Humans are capital asset and key driver to a successful organisation. The objectives of the study are to explain the development of human governance index and discuss the findings of human governance index when applied to 68 Shariah-compliant companies in the manufacturing sector. Previous study used primary and secondary data. Thus, this study will combine the indices of Human Governance from previous study and will develop a more comprehensive checklist using secondary data. Human Governance Index of this study comprises 37 items which are made up of four (4) main components which are (1) BOD Leadership - which is measured by i) BOD Job Experience Index, (ii) BOD Educational Background Index, (iii) BOD Educational Level Index, (iv) BOD Age Index, (v) BOD Gender Diversity Index; (2) Level of Integrity Index; (3) BOD Quantity of Training Index; and (4) Quality of Internal Control System Index. The index has been validated by panel experts and inter-rater consistency was also conducted. The index was then used to measure the Human Governance Index of 68 Shariah-compliant companies’ annual reports for the year 2019. 68 Shariah-compliant companies are from manufacturing companies which comprise 25 consumer products, 3 healthcare, and 40 industrial products. The results of this study revealed that consumer product sector has the highest items compared to industrial product and healthcare sectors. BOD job experience index has the highest mean of 92.9% indicates that BOD has more than 10 years’ experience and BOD gender diversity index has the lowest mean of 17.6% which comprises female. Human governance Index can be used to assist companies to improve their human capital who are important assets to the company and have been proven to increase performance of companies if they are better managed. more...

BACKGROUND Hematological malignancies disturb the blood, lymph nodes, and bone marrow. Taking medications for treating opportunistic infections (OIs) in these individuals may enhance the risk of medication interaction as well as adverse drug reactions. OBJECTIVE This review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of nondrug interventions in reducing OIs among patients with hematological cancers. METHODS The PubMed, CENTRAL (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials), and Embase databases were searched on December 26, 2022, for all randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The primary endpoint was OIs. The quality of included studies was assessed by the Cochrane Risk-of-Bias tool. RESULTS A total of 6 studies were included in this review with 4 interventions: (1) types of mouthwash received, (2) presence of coating on central venous catheters (CVCs), (3) use of well-fitted masks, and (4) types of diet consumed. The results were presented in 8 different comparisons: (1) chlorhexidine-nystatin versus saline mouth rinse, (2) chlorhexidine versus saline mouth rinse, (3) nystatin versus saline mouth rinse, (4) chlorhexidine silver sulfadiazine–coated CVCs versus uncoated catheters, (5) well-fitted masks versus no mask, (6) amine fluoride-stannous fluoride versus sodium fluoride mouthwash, (7) low-bacterial diet versus standard hospital diet, and (8) herbal versus placebo mouthwash. No clear differences were reported in any of the outcomes examined in the first 3 comparisons. There were also no clear differences in the rate of catheter-related bloodstream infection or insertion site infection between the use of chlorhexidine silver sulfadiazine–coated CVCs versus uncoated catheters in the patients. Further, no significant differences were seen between patients who used a well-fitted mask and those without a mask in the incidence of OI. The all-cause mortality and mortality due to OI were similar between the 2 groups. There was no clear difference in all-cause mortality, although common adverse effects were reported in patients who used sodium fluoride mouthwash compared with those using amine fluoride-stannous fluoride mouthwash. There was no evidence of any difference in the incidence of possible invasive aspergillosis or candidemia between patients who consumed a low-bacterial diet and a standard diet. For the last comparison, no significant difference was seen between patients who received herbal and placebo mouthwash. CONCLUSIONS Very limited evidence was available to measure the effectiveness of nondrug interventions in hematological cancers. The effectiveness of the interventions included in this review needs to be evaluated further in high-quality RCTs in a dedicated setting among patients with hematological malignancies. CLINICALTRIAL PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews CRD42020169186; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=169186 more...

Background Hematological malignancies disturb the blood, lymph nodes, and bone marrow. Taking medications for treating opportunistic infections (OIs) in these individuals may enhance the risk of medication interaction as well as adverse drug reactions. Objective This review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of nondrug interventions in reducing OIs among patients with hematological cancers. Methods The PubMed, CENTRAL (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials), and Embase databases were searched on December 26, 2022, for all randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The primary endpoint was OIs. The quality of included studies was assessed by the Cochrane Risk-of-Bias tool. Results A total of 6 studies were included in this review with 4 interventions: (1) types of mouthwash received, (2) presence of coating on central venous catheters (CVCs), (3) use of well-fitted masks, and (4) types of diet consumed. The results were presented in 8 different comparisons: (1) chlorhexidine-nystatin versus saline mouth rinse, (2) chlorhexidine versus saline mouth rinse, (3) nystatin versus saline mouth rinse, (4) chlorhexidine silver sulfadiazine–coated CVCs versus uncoated catheters, (5) well-fitted masks versus no mask, (6) amine fluoride-stannous fluoride versus sodium fluoride mouthwash, (7) low-bacterial diet versus standard hospital diet, and (8) herbal versus placebo mouthwash. No clear differences were reported in any of the outcomes examined in the first 3 comparisons. There were also no clear differences in the rate of catheter-related bloodstream infection or insertion site infection between the use of chlorhexidine silver sulfadiazine–coated CVCs versus uncoated catheters in the patients. Further, no significant differences were seen between patients who used a well-fitted mask and those without a mask in the incidence of OI. The all-cause mortality and mortality due to OI were similar between the 2 groups. There was no clear difference in all-cause mortality, although common adverse effects were reported in patients who used sodium fluoride mouthwash compared with those using amine fluoride-stannous fluoride mouthwash. There was no evidence of any difference in the incidence of possible invasive aspergillosis or candidemia between patients who consumed a low-bacterial diet and a standard diet. For the last comparison, no significant difference was seen between patients who received herbal and placebo mouthwash. Conclusions Very limited evidence was available to measure the effectiveness of nondrug interventions in hematological cancers. The effectiveness of the interventions included in this review needs to be evaluated further in high-quality RCTs in a dedicated setting among patients with hematological malignancies. Trial Registration PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews CRD42020169186; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=169186 more...

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. Despite the proven benefit of secondary prevention medications (SPMs), their utilisation remains suboptimal in many countries. This study aimed to assess the use of SPMs in a Malaysian primary care clinic and factors associated with it. Methods: A retrospective review of electronic medical records was conducted to assess the prescription of SPMs among patients with coronary artery disease who attended the clinic between 1st January 2018 and 31st December 2018. Prescriptions of SPMs were documented in numbers and percentages. Multiple logistic regressions were used to analyse factors associated with the prescription of SPMs. Results: Of the 662 patients included in the study, 99.1% were prescribed statins, 97% antiplatelets, 81.7% angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitors or angiotensin Ⅱ receptor blockers (ARBs), and 78.7% beta-blockers. Male patients were more likely to be prescribed statins (OR = 8.584, 95% CI: 1.431 – 51.510) and antiplatelets (OR = 6.818, 95% CI: 2.294 – 20.257). Another significant factor for antiplatelets prescription was having diabetes (OR = 3.318, 95% CI: 1.148 – 9.590). Having hypertension was associated with ACE-inhibitors or ARBs prescription (OR = 4.008, 95% CI: 2.522 – 6.370). Conclusion: Although the majority of patients received SPMs, there were significant disparities for some SPMs prescriptions among female patients. As these medications are widely available in the Malaysian primary care setting, steps should be taken to ensure that these medications are prescribed equally for all eligible patients. more...

Self-efficacy (SE) has been shown to be positively correlated with quality of life (QOL) among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Medication understanding (MU) on the other hand, leads to good adherence that indirectly improves QOL. Measuring self-efficacy in medication understanding is useful to ascertain patient’s confidence in medication adherence. However, there is a lack of studies on the relationship between self-efficacy in medication understanding with QOL. This study aimed to determine the relationship between self-efficacy in medication understanding and QOL, and the factors associated with QOL in elderly with T2DM on polypharmacy. A cross-sectional study was conducted on these populations at primary care specialist clinic. Malay version of MU in SE questionnaire (MUSE) was used. Higher scores showed a better understanding. A revised Version Diabetic Quality of Life-13 (RVDQOL-13) questionnaire was used with lower scores indicating higher QOL. A total of 321 patients participated, with the majority being male (58.3%), Malay (84.7%), a predominant age group of 60–69 (75.7%) with mean age (±SD) of 66.7 (±0.286) years old. The median (IQR) of MUSE was high—30 (4)—while the RVDQOL-13 was low—19 (8)—which demonstrated high QOL. Inverse correlation was found between MUSE and QOL (r −0.14, p < 0.01). Multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that MUSE score (β −0.282; 95% CI: (−5.438, −2.581); p < 0.001), low-income group (β −0.144; 95% CI: (−3.118, −0.534); p = 0.006) and duration of medications ≥240 days (β −0.282; 95% CI: (−5.438, −2.581); p < 0.001) were associated with better QOL, while medications ≥10 (β 0.109; 95% CI: 0.214, 4.462; p = 0.031) and those with pills and insulin (β 0.193; 95% CI: 1.206, 3.747; p < 0.001) were associated with poor QOL. In conclusion, higher MUSE is associated with better QOL. Findings suggest emphasizing self-efficacy in medication understanding in the management of elderly with T2DM on polypharmacy to improve QOL. more...

Background Gagging condition is among factors contributing to avoidance behavior to seek the dental treatment, and rigorous management is still under investigation. This study aims to explore the effect of listening to the self-preference music in reducing the gagging condition during dental impression procedure towards gagging patient. Physiology and psychological impact to the procedure with and without musical intervention are investigated. Method and material A group of twenty-five patients that will undergo impression procedure was randomly selected. Self-reported Gagging Problem Assessment (GPA-pa-SF) questionnaires was then administered to determine the severity of gagging. Maxillary impression was taken twice within the same patient in two different time intervals (1st without any intervention and 2nd with musical intervention). During both procedures, the pulse rate/minutes (BPM) and arterial oxygen saturation of haemoglobin (SpO2%) were recorded and psychometric assessment was evaluated through the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14). Result Mean value of BPM was significantly reduced with music (p Conclusion Listening to self-preference music during impression taking had improved physiology and psychology of gagging patients thus, can be attributed to the better dental management. more...

The deployment of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) has raised security concerns among the network administrators. Thus, in strengthening the network security, administrator requires an appropriate method to assess the possible risks that occur in their networks. Aware of the needs to calculate risk in IPv6 network, it is essential to an organization to have an equation that is flexible and consider the requirements of the network. However, the existing risk assessment equations do not consider the requirement of the network. Therefore, this paper presents the adaptation of grounded theory to search for elements that are needed to develop IPv6 risk assessment (IRA6) equation. The attack scenarios’ experiments; UDP Flooding, TCP Flooding and Multicast attacks were carried out in different network environment to show how the IPv6 risk assessment equation being used. The result shows that the IRA6 equation is more flexible to be used regardless the network sizes and easier to calculate the risk value compared to the existing risk assessment equations. Hence, network administrators can have a proper decision making and strategic planning for a robust network security. more...

Escalation of Internet-of-Thing (IoT) may cause internet users being exposed to IPv6 security issues. End-to-end connection feature in IPv6 can be misused by attackers to flood targeted host. Using User Datagram Protocol (UDP), attackers can certainly congest the network by injecting UDP packets during network communication. This will introduce risk if there is no precaution step taken. Enhanced risk assessment equation can be adopted to mitigate the perils. Thus, this paper presents the use of enhanced risk assessment equation to identify risk value that is caused by UDP flooding attack. The attack was simulated using OMNeT++ simulation software. The inputs that were considered in the enhanced equation are based on the features of the tested network scenarios. The obtained risk value can be used in determining appropriate mitigation techniques that help the organization in maintaining and strengthening their network. It also offers organization to secure their network resources and assets. Furthermore, this paper also reveals that the enhanced risk assessment equation is flexible to be used in any situation. Hereafter, more IPv6 based protocols will be tested to measure the capability of using the enhanced equation. more...

Enterprise network is a large and diverse network connecting major sites within an enterprise. As the Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) is depleting, the deployment of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) in enterprise network is significant to ensure a continuous communication system. Unfortunately, the coexistence condition of IPv4 and IPv6 will expose enterprise network to IPv4 and IPv6 threats. This paper investigated the potential security risks that will affect the enterprise network by using threat model and measured the potential security risk in enterprise network by using IPv6 Security Risk Prototype (i-SeRP) system. Threats and vulnerabilities were identified by using threat model and i-SeRP system was developed. I-SeRP system helps network administrator to identify the security risk as well as the decision making process for security policy approach. An equation is adapted to calculate the risk value. Analysis from the risk value will assist the enterprise to identify risky assets that need to be secured. Through this study, enterprises are able to calculate the risk value easily using i-SeRP system. more...